I was at the Jersey Shore on vacation during the Syringe Tide of 1987. There was reports of medical waste floating up on shore at some of the beaches that summer. It didn’t hit the beach we frequented, but we weren’t taking any chances so we kept out of the ocean and stayed far up on the beach near the boardwalk.

It may not be a dramatic moment in History, but it definitely was a memorable one on the personal bummer history scale.

I am happy to report that I lucked out in a ticket lottery and got to attend the launch of Atlantis, the last shuttle to fly into space. It was fantastic! (I had seen one other shuttle launch by accident years before—I happened to embark on a cruiseship that was departing from Fort Lauderdale when we heard an unidentifiable roar outside. We rushed out onto the deck to see what it was, and caught sight of a shuttle struggling against the pull of gravity aiming for the stars. That was pretty cool, too.)

I grew up just south of Cape Canaveral and as a kid was able to witness the first shuttle launch. When the final one went up I made a trip back to Florida to sort of book-end the era. Got drunk with some German guys on a bridge in Titusville that morning. ;)

Summer Olympics 1976, Montreal, Quebec. I was an 18 yr.old Army Signalman. We provided secure communication and security for the various venues. Great time cruising around Montreal in the summer in our military Jeeps and Triumph dispatch bikes.

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